Tuesday 8 November 2011

Neither Black Nor White

This fascination with Africa is surprising. Actually, the way it is portrayed in most works borders on more of a fascination from the grotesqueness than from the richness of its civilisations and culture. For centuries we have been trying to understand why this mere different in pigmentation of the skin has caused all this demarcation, hate and contempt.


It is good to be colour blind sometimes. The amount of times people have been reminded that colour doesn't matter must exceed the amount of humans on this planet. Yet, it is a lesson most forget. 


In India where most of us have brown skin we still are obsessed with the shades of it. Especially in women. Fair is fair literally speaking and thus, the tone of one's skin which is more a matter of heredity than choice is something that has given the skin lightening market such a steady amount of patrons.


When it isn't our skin then why should we bother of what colour another's skin is like save for maybe a painter painting or for physical description?


This in 2011 is still as much as an enigma as it was when in the eighteenth century efforts were made to erase all trace of the Nubian pharaohs.


Some say even Cleopatra was black. What difference does it make?

No comments:

Post a Comment